Renovations under way at prison set to close

by Liz Sidoti
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A state prison that is to be closed to save $19 million a year is getting a $4.4 million renovation.

"We didn't want to leave the work half done because we're mothballing it. So, down the road if we need to reopen it, it will be ready," Andrea Dean, a department spokeswoman, said yesterday.

The department decided last month to close the Orient Correctional Institution after Gov. Bob Taft ordered state agencies to cut expenses because of a $1.5 billion deficit in the state budget.

The medium-security prison in Pickaway County near Columbus opened in 1984, but some of its structures were built in the early 1900s when it was a mental hospital.

In December, the state started transferring the 1,747 inmates at Orient to 10 other state prisons. Nearly 500 inmates have been moved, and the rest will be transferred by the end of March, when the prison closes. Most of the 535 jobs there will be eliminated.

The department looked at many state prisons, including others that are undergoing renovations, when deciding which one to close, Dean said.

Orient was chosen partly because of its age, but the department also considered that much of the planned $16 million makeover had not been started, she said.

However, some of the work already has been completed. Orient has received a new parking lot, renovated inmate dormitories, and fresh coats of paint. Workers will finish sewer, plumbing, ventilation, heating, roof and window projects next month.